Are you asking for a utility that will encrypt your data filess so other people can't read them?Or are you asking for a utility that will password protect some executable programs on your pc and require a password before it runs?

There are programs that will let you make your folders completely invisible but somebody could hack their way in if the program is disabled at startup.

For actual encryption (which takes more time, but nobody can access the data without actually knowing the password) take a look at cryptext (author: Nick Payne, now discontinued... you'll have to Google it) for a very fast barebones encryption program or Axcrypt (one of the most comprehensive, yet easy to use encryption utilities & under active developement)

Both these can encrypt folders recursively and both of them are free. If you have a lot of data to encrypt/decrypt everytime cryptext should be the obvious choice. If you're looking for a well-rounded, comprehensive encryption program Axcrypt wins hands down. I use both.

If you need generic, secure, transparent and fast file&folder protection, imho www.truecrypt.org is the way to go. AxCrypt seems like it takes the traditional route of decrypt->modify->reencrypt, which is pretty useless as it leaves plaintext residue on your disk.

Hrm, dsCrypt uses BuzzWords® and makes pretty impossible claims ("immunity to keylogger-infested environments"). And things like "exceptional resistance to brute-force password search"? If somebody really wants to get at your data, they won't be hammering a GUI, they'll be working directly.

AxCrypt seems like it takes the traditional route of decrypt->modify->reencrypt, which is pretty useless as it leaves plaintext residue on your disk.

Just my 2 cents:I have always had the feeling that AxCrypt was a quality piece of software (open source too), made by someone who knows what they are doing. The issue about leaving plaintext "residue" on your hard drive is really only of importance to a small subset of the people encrypting files (those who need to be absolutely certain that there is no trace of the original file left on their original pc). I'm starting a new post about his new version 2 which he recently announced was open to testers.

The issue about leaving plaintext "residue" on your hard drive is really only of importance to a small subset of the people encrypting files (those who need to be absolutely certain that there is no trace of the original file left on their original pc).

-mouser

Think USB flashdrives...

And if you leave residue, you're almost at the point where you might as well not encrypt at all (false sense of security being worse than no security) - unless, of course, you use file wiping, but that's just extra hassle.

Don't get me wrong though, AxCrypt is probably just fine for getting a file from person A to person B securely. What I'm warning against is thinking that a decrypt->modify/use->encrypt scheme is safe on an usb drive (or even your local harddrive).

Actually all I care is that it uses standard 128bit symmetric key encryption and it requires no installation, which is a huge plus when I want to share the tools with other people.

I also use an alternative solution, but which requires installation : it's the well known archiver winrar (www.rarsoft.com) which has some unique features, like extra data added as CRC, and AES encryption, and profile management (avoids typing the password for encryption - only).

Hrm, dsCrypt uses BuzzWords® and makes pretty impossible claims ("immunity to keylogger-infested environments"). And things like "exceptional resistance to brute-force password search"? If somebody really wants to get at your data, they won't be hammering a GUI, they'll be working directly.